West Virginia University is pivoting.
The state’s flagship land grant institution is facing a significant budget shortfall, not only now, but in the years to come. The University projects a $45 million shortfall for fiscal year 2024, and that could rise to $75 million over the next five years.
(Brad McElhinny reports here.)
The primary reason for the budget woes is the steady enrollment decline. WVU had about 26,000 students enrolled this year. That’s projected to drop by about 1,000 next year. And it falls over a demographic cliff after that.
According to a PowerPoint presentation to the WVU Board of Governor’s last week, “If we maintain the same market share, retention, persistence and graduation rates… for FY2028 we potentially could have 22,012 students. For FY2033, we potentially could have 20,890 students.”
WVU is not alone. The lingering effects of the pandemic, the high cost of a college education, and increasing job options for individuals without a four-year degree have all combined to make higher ed less attractive.
WVU Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Rob Alsop said the University must adapt. “The headwinds are outweighing the tailwinds, and we’re going to have to make some hard choices and do some things that, in a perfect world, we wouldn’t do,” Alsop told the board.
Those “hard choices” are still being debated internally, but WVU will have to eliminate or curtail some programs to achieve the necessary savings. “It’s not time to panic, but it’s not time to snooze,” Alsop said. “And I just want to reiterate that our leadership team gets it.”
The presentation included some hints on how WVU plans to transition to “Land Grant 2.0.” The number one priority going forward is to “Focus on our students, the customers [emphasis added].” Another priority is “Reallocate and invest in resources in areas with the highest return on investment.[emphasis added]”
Those are deliberate business terms. They strongly suggest the University is going to redirect its resources more toward what students want rather than try to be an all-things-to-all-people liberal arts school.
Meanwhile, the University is instituting the WVU Pledge Scholarship. It will automatically cover the last-dollar-in costs for West Virginia residents who received the Promise Scholarship. The University hopes the scholarship will boost enrollment, particularly for first-generation students. This is exactly what WVU should be doing.
It was also not lost on WVU that Marshall President Brad Smith last year announced a $300 million fund-raising program so that, “In ten years, no Marshall student will graduate with student debt.” Props to both schools for trying to make college more affordable.
WVU’s enrollment is declining, and costs are rising. Maintaining the status quo would put the University on a glide path to mediocrity. Redirecting WVU to “Land Grant 2.0” is an acknowledgement of reality, as well as a renewed focus on its core mission.